Warminster parents make charity gift as part of Sean's legacy

Yolanda and Steve Turner present £1,000 and medical kit in memory of their son Sean, inset below, to the Lifetime Children’s Trust. Receiving the cheque and kit are Brenda Yorston, centre right, and Jackie Macallam, right, of Lifetime Services

Vital medical equipment for children with heart conditions has been presented to a health charity by the parents of Warminster boy Sean Turner.

The equipment was bought following a successful £5,700 fundraiser held in Sean’s memory on what would have been his sixth birthday.

Sean, the son of Yolanda and Steve Turner, died aged four in March 2012, six weeks after undergoing corrective surgery for a complex congenital heart condition at Bristol Children’s Hospital.

On Friday the Turners presented a suction machine, four pulse oximeters and ten fingertip pulse oximeters to the community nursing and psychology service Lifetime, which helped the family cope with Sean’s illness.

Mrs Turner said: “It’s lovely to see what all the money has gone to and to know that some of it has already been put to use is great. Sean had one of the portable pulse oximeters, so we know how useful they are.

“If he was running about and I was concerned that he was struggling, I was able to use it to check his oxygen levels and then I could tell him to sit down and have a rest if necessary.

“It’s brilliant to provide this equipment to children who need it and we never expected to be able to get this much. It was a difficult day on Sean’s birthday, but it was a special event and it was fantastic to be able to raise money for valuable equipment.

“The charity is important to us and Sean was heavily involved in Lifetime from birth. We had nurses visiting us regularly to give us help and they also provided support after we lost Sean. It’s great to give something back to them.”

The Turners raised the money by organising the Forever in our Hearts event at Warminster Civic Centre on August 31 last year, with the charity auction held on the night raising an impressive £5,700 for the Lifetime Children’s Trust, which supports the Lifetime Service.

As well as buying the equipment, the couple gave the remaining £1,000 to Lifetime Children’s Trust to be used for some of the other services it provides.

The Lifetime Children’s Trust was set up by a group of parents of children with life limiting illnesses to raise funds to support families who receive a service from Lifetime.

The service, operated by health care provider Sirona, helps children with long-term conditions who have a nursing need and children who have very complex, technology- dependent health needs.

Head of Lifetime Brenda Yorston said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to get all this new equipment, which we can provide to children long-term and we are very grateful for all the hard work the Turners put into the event.”